SPR!
by The-Anime-Crazy-Girl
Summary: Mai is surprised to find a scrapbook in the 'M' file at work. But who made it? And why are there pictures of her... pictures she didn't know were taken in it?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I am basing this on the anime series of ghost hunt, so I only have season one. If you have been reading the manga, then it'll probably be off a little.

Chapter 1

I ran down the street, already ten minutes late for my job. If I was late again, Naru would fire me. Well, he said he would anyway. Since I got hired, I helped solve all of the investigations.

"Mai!" Lin's voice cut through my thoughts. I turned around to see that he wasn't angry, but laughing. Seeing Lin laugh was not something you see every day. In fact, it's not something hardly anyone sees. It makes me wonder if anyone has seen it before.

"Mai, Mai, Mai," His laughing voice cut through my thoughts once again, "Naru is going to be so mad if you walk in late, especially looking like that. Did you even brush your hair?" I could feel my face redden, and immediately patted down my hair so it didn't look as messy.

"I-I woke up late. I didn't mean to, I forgot about daylight savings time!" I shouted, not knowing why. Lin chuckled, but lead me in the back way.

"Mai! Have you seen the time? You're late. But, I'll give you another chance. There are some files needing to be cleaned out." Naru said as soon as I walked in, but soon turned back to his tea. I had to muffle a laugh, and looked up at Lin, both of us had laughter in our eyes. Who knows how many last chances I've had?

"Clean up the 'M' file, we have another case, there seems to be a nasty ghost that's haunting a house in Sapporo. Her name is Machi. Kind of strange, really seeing as the name means true happiness. But we'll need an awful lot of space, so get rid of some not so important things." Naru talked really quickly, kind of like he was embarrassed. M. What could be so embarrassing in the M file? Was it stuffed full of manga? My brain was searching for the answers the whole walk to the filing cabinet. It was a short walk, but seemed really long.

When I opened the file, there were folders that were stuffed completely full. I picked up the first one, and muffled a laugh. As I suspected, it was stuffed full of manga. But, to my surprise, the file was marked 'minutes (meetings).' I tossed it aside, vowing to find the actual minutes, and grabbed the next file. Instantly, a comb fell out of it. It looked like Masako's!

"Gwa!!" I wasn't quite sure why the cry escaped from my mouth. Was I expecting it to be a folder about me? I checked what it was marked, and sure enough, it was 'Masako, Hara.' I peeked inside, and it was full of tapes. I gingerly placed the comb back in, and tossed that aside, too. The third full file was next. I picked it up, and a guitar pick fell out. Laughing, I realized this must be Monk's file. Just to make sure I checked the name. 'Music.' I quickly shoved the guitar pick back in, and looked inside. Sheets and sheets of guitar music was in there, along with many other colourful guitar picks.

It didn't take long to separate the important from the junk, and eventually, I did find the minutes, under a file marked 'measles.' Just as I was about to but Masako's file back in, I noticed one last file crammed in the bottom. I picked it up, and saw that it wasn't marked.

"Well, you could use that for Machi, can't you?" I nearly jumped in the air when I heard John's voice. I turned around to see him there, smiling like he usually does.

"John! Hi! Actually, I was planning on using the measles folder, but I think I should check to see if this is important, first. Naru's having tea, if you want to join him." I shouted. It had been a long time since John last arrived, and everyone was getting worried about him. But I had to finish my job. I opened the unnamed file, and saw a scrapbook inside. Only a scrapbook.

"EH?!" I shouted, and realized that once again, I was being to loud. I almost thought I heard footsteps running over, but then listened carefully and only heard John's laugh. But.. A scrapbook? Naru makes scrapbooks? And why is there only one? I was suspicious, so I started to open it. NO! I can't be too nosy! But, what is it? I reluctantly opened it up again. There was a big, blown up picture of me, smiling like we had just solved a case. I knew I was about to shout out again, so I clasped my hand against my mouth. But why did Naru have a scrapbook about me? When I turned the page, there were pictures, and messy writing scribbled underneath each and every one. I recognised them all. Pictures of me under cherry trees, pictures of me sleeping in the middle of cases, there was a picture of my by the coast, one of my looking frightened by Urada, a monster who bathed in blood, and a picture of me getting a piggy-back ride from Lin when I was possessed by Kenji-kun.

I looked through every page, and in the end, there was a picture of me hugging John, one that I didn't remember, and some angry writings underneath. Why was Naru so angry? I decided to stick the folder back into the bottom, to save him some embarrassment. I brought Naru the measles file, to suggest that we use that, and noticed the weird look on his face.

"N-Naru? Is everything ok?" I asked, "You look kind of weird..."

"What's that folder?"

I looked down and remembered the scrapbook, and that he might think I had found it.

"Oh, this? The measles folder. We could use it for Machi, right?" I said, cautious of what he might say

"Yes. Was there anything you found that we don't need?"

"Uh huh. There was the minutes folder, full of _manga_ that I don't think you really need that much. But I found the minutes in the measles folder, so that's all good. There was a little bag with a scrap of skin in it in the... what was it again? But it was in a folder, so I put it with the unimportant things. Ummm... there was more, but I put everything on your desk, so I guess you can sort out things you want to keep yourself."

"Right. Can you mark the folder as 'Machi; Sapporo' now, Mai?"

"_Hai_! I'll get right on that!" I ran right out to find a pencil. After looking for ten minutes, I went back to Naru and John.

"Hey, do you have any pencils?" I asked. John laughed, and Naru smiled. He _smiled_! And from the pocket of John's sweater came a whole box of pencils, and another of erasers.

"I thought it would be a good joke to hide all of them."

"GWA!!! John!!" I started smacking him on the head with the folder, without thinking about it. But isn't that more of something I would do to one of my friends? Now that I thought of it, I consider John a friend, and Naru, Monk, Ayako, and even Masako. But are they really my friends? They are adults, well all except for Masako, but she doesn't like me.

"Mai, this isn't really the time to be spacing out. We have to leave for Sapporo pretty soon." Naru said.

"S-sapporo? That's pretty far from here." I said.

"We have to figure out what's with Machi, but we can't do that from here. How long will it take you to pack your bags, Mai? I'll drive you to your apartment, and then set off for Sapporo." John suggested.

"Ok, I just need to put one last folder into the M file..." It was a lie, but I needed to get that scrapbook. I sneakily grabbed it and hid it under my shirt. When I looked out the window, John was already getting his smart car started, and Naru was already in his car. I had to make a decision here. Do I ride with Naru or John?

Naru seemed to answer the question himself. As soon as I got outside, he started driving. I opened the door to John's car, and noticed how clean it was. Would Naru's be this clean? Or even cleaner?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** Sorry about the weird end to chapter one. I didn't want to make the chapter too long.

Chapter 2

"Mai? Are you listening to me? Wow, you sure space out a lot." John said. It made me come back to reality. I am not with Naru, riding in his car, I am with John, in his clean, funky, smart car.

"I-I'm listening...?" I said, confused as to where I really was. I didn't know where I was, yet it was strangely familiar.

"We're at your apartment building now, Mai. Hurry up and pack."

"Hey, why aren't Lin, Masako, Monk, and Ayako coming?"

"They are, but they're going in Lin's van. Naru seems to like driving alone."

I sat there for a few minutes, not thinking about anything at all, and then realized that I should probably pack up a bag. Then I noticed that John was giving me a weird look.

"Sorry," I muttered and then ran out the door, being careful not to let the scrapbook fall. Once I got into my apartment, I grabbed a medium-sized bag, and stuffed it full with my clothes, toiletries, and, of course, the scrapbook. Before leaving, I also through a couple thousand yen into my windbreaker pocket.

Finally, I got back outside, and both Naru and John looked annoyed. And it isn't often that John looks annoyed. As soon as I got back into John's car, he sped off after Naru, who started slowly moving as soon as I walked out the door.

It's kinda nice in John's car. As I was looking around again, I noticed a scrap of paper with messy writing scribbled all over it.

"J-john? What's this?" I asked, while picking up the paper from the floor. When I turned it over, there were ink blots all over it, as if someone didn't know what to write.

"John?" I started again, "What is this?" He looked over for a few seconds, then stared back at the road.

"It's nothing. Just put it in the glove compartment. Oh, and while your at it, can you throw your bag into the back?" He was talking way to fast, like he was nervous about something. But I was so curious about it, I decided to read it. _When can I see it? -Lin_

"Kyaaa!" I shouted, not knowing why, "John, you write scrapbooks? How cute!!" John blushed, which showed why he didn't want me to read it. He was embarrassed! Wait. Did he make the scrapbook of me?

"What made you think that?" John demanded. I looked back down at the note. 'When can I see it?' No mention of scrapbooks.

"Uhm... I just was thinking of what it might be, and I remembered I used to make scrapbooks. I thought it would be cute if you made them to." That was quick thinking. I couldn't let him know about the scrapbook. But why did he blush?

"You can be so weird sometimes, Mai." John replied. That made me cringe. When I looked out the window, I saw we were already there.

"That was quick!" I shouted, causing John to give me yet another weird look. We drove for a while longer in silence, and then parked in front of a small house.

"Well, Mai, this is where Machi is." John announced.

"It's..... beautiful!" I cooed, and John nodded.

"Now let's set up base!"

John left, and grabbed our bags. He knocked on the door, and an old couple greeted him. I followed, so I would know where to set up.

"Hello, I'm Sadoko, and this is my husband, Nao," the old woman said, "I'm sorry, but we only have two rooms for you people. We weren't expecting five of you. We were hoping for just two."

"That's fine!" I quickly said, not wanting to make them feel bad, "All we need is two rooms! One for the men and base, and one for the women." The couple looked at each other.

"You see, one of the rooms was where Machi stayed." Nao started.

"It probably won't be good to sleep there, she's quite a moody one." Sadoko ended. John and I exchanged embarrassed looks.

"That means.... we'll.... have to......" John studdered.

"Share.... a.... room......?!?!" I screamed. Nao and Sadoko Nodded. I turned make to John.

"I'll set up base." I said, and quickly ran away. I have to share a room? With John, Naru and Lin? Maybe I'll find out who made that scrapbook. But do I even want to know? I stopped walking for a minute to think deeply. I was lost in thought when something whacked me in the back of the head!

"NARU!!! I'VE BEEN HIT!!! GWAAAA!! WHERE IS EVERYONE!!!???" I shouted, panicking, afraid that I'd been harmed by Machi. But, when I turned around, Naru was right behind me, with shelves.

"Make yourself useful and set up these shelves." He said, obviously not noticing that he'd _hurt_ me. I took them, grumbling something about how it would be better for it to be Machi, anyway.

Once we set up base, we decided to set up our sleeping bags. Masako wanted to be by a wall and Ayako, because as everyone knows she hates me. I never got that, you know? I saved her from a painful death of Urada a while ago, but she still seemed to hate me. By the time all of the sleeping bags were set up, somehow I ended up with Ayako on my right, John on my left, Naru by my head, and Lin at my feet. I could swear the whole time they were setting up, Masako was giving me a dirty look. But what can you expect?

"Mai?" I heard John's voice in the middle of the night. I turned to my left to see him, sitting up, "Mai?" I grumbled, and sat up as well.

"Yeah?" I said, while rubbing my eyes. As my vision got clearer, I saw he was blushing. With the silver moonlight pouring into the room, John looked kinda beautiful.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I listened. Then I heard some low coughs and gags. "Is someone having a cough attack?" I asked.

"No," John shook his head, "well, nobody in this room, anyway. We should check it out." And with that, we got up, put on our slippers, and padded out the door. I felt kind of embarrassed walking beside John in my pajamas. Mine were disgusting and old, while his looked new and clean.

We walked over to Sadoko and Nao's room, and paused to listen at the door. No coughing coming from there. We started walking over to Machi's room, wondering if this was the work of a ghost, when we heard a scream come from outisde.

"John!" I screamed, and dug my head into his chest, trying to remove the image of Machi killing someone out of my head. I was crying so hard I didn't even hear the door to our room open.

When I finally opened my eyes, I was hugging John, he was hugging me, and Monk was staring at us. I pushed John away from me, and blushed deeply.

"I-" I started, and Monk did at the same time, "Got scared. Heard something." Monk raised one eyebrow.

"I was looking for the washroom." Monk said. I pointed at the door, the only one that locked, and as Monk walked by he patted me on the head. As soon as Monk closed and locked the door, I turned and glared at John.

"Why didn't you tell me that someone was there?" I hissed.

"Well, I didn't hear it either."

"Why not!?" I demanded. John just shook his head, and we turned to go back to the room. I was still nervous on the way down the short hall, so I grabbed John's arm.

"A little close now, aren't we?" I heard a creepy voice whisper in my ear... and it wasn't John's voice. I turned, stared something in the eyes, and screamed... screamed with all the air in my lungs.

My scream made John turn, and he kicked the thing right in the teeth, grabbed my hand, and ran out the door. I didn't even have time to turn back and see who it was.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"J-John? Who was that?" I asked, once we got into the cold winter air, "I'm cold. What's going on?" It _was_ pretty cold out, and I was only in my pajamas. And it was winter.

"J..." I was cut off by John pressing his hand on my mouth. I pushed him away and curled up under a bare cherry tree. When I finally looked back over, he was walking back to the house, with his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"John?" I started, confused as to what just happened. When I turned around his face was suddenly serious. "J-John?" But once again, he didn't say anything. Instead, he put his finger to his lips.

"John, you know you can't pull off the mysterious thing." I said, annoyed. With that, he started laughing again. Then, the door opened.

"Mai, you must be freezing. And why did you kick Naru, John. He only wanted to know what all the noise in the hall was. I swear he was bleeding for like, 5 minutes. So you two stop flirting and go back to sleep. _Inside._" Monk sounded so serious when he said that. I didn't know why, but I was blushing, and when I looked at John, he was blushing too. So, without another thought, we walked inside.

Monk was giving me a really weird look, too. Lucky me, he didn't say anything. Now I just have to hope he won't say anything to anybody else.

So I fell back asleep, feeling quite annoyed with the nights events.

When I woke up, I felt something papery on the back of my hand. It was a note. "_Mai, we went out shopping for food. Nao and Sadoko won't supply us. Old couples these days, eh? Well, John was still asleep, too, so we left him for you. Happy? ;) From, Monk + the SPR crew"_ I turned to my left, to see John wasn't there. Where could he be?

So, I looked behind me, to see John scribbling in some sort of notebook. I silently padded over to him, in order to look over his shoulder. It was a scrapbook! Did John make the scrapbook of me?

"KYAAAAA!!!" I shouted, "John, you DO make scrapbooks!" John blushed a deep shade of red. He turned to face me, and nodded.

"And I made yours." he replied. My heart skipped a beat. My eyes widened. I blushed even deeper then him. He blushed as deep as me, too. It must have taken courage to let that out. I was paralysed, standing in front of him, both of us turned away and blushing. We stood like that for a while, until he stood up and went towards his bag, grabbed a camera, and took a picture. After that I watched him closely.

He took out a glue stick, pasted it onto the page, and wrote a few sentences.

"Wow, John, I didn't know you were such a stalker." Naru's voice echoed through the room. We both turned to look at him, along with Monk and Lin, too. "I wrote that scrapbook, and you know it." Wow, Naru sounds so serious.

"Are you kidding me?" Lin shouted, "Mai is the only one of you Japanese folks I trust. I've been in love with her since the first time I saw you." Naru glared at him.

"No, Mai, I love you." He said.

"Mai, no!" John pleated. Then I noticed that Monk hadn't said anything.

"What's your say in this?" I asked turning to Monk.

"Nothing. I don't know anything about this scrapbook." he said, but it didn't sound convincing. His eyes looked sad, and I knew it was him, but I couldn't confront him just yet.

"Mai, who do you chose?" Naru asked. Lin frowned. But when I turned to John, he was almost crying, holding his camera and scrapbook to his chest. I knew what I had to do.

I walked over to Naru, looked him straight in the eyes, only to see him flinch. Then I walked over to Lin, who tried to hug me, but I got away to soon. Then I went to Monk. He smiled, and shook his head. Last was John. I examined him, wrapped my arms around him, and hugged him. He hugged me back with love. At the same time, we tilted our heads to each other and kissed.

"I love you," he whispered in my ear. When I turned to the others, Naru and Lin were staring with their mouths wide open, and Monk was nowhere to be found. That's when I knew I made the wrong choice. It was Monk, and I should have believed it with my heart. But with this morning, the scrapbook, the first one who confessed to me... I only saw John.

Now tears were building up in my eyes, and I knew John would ask why. What would I say? What would I say? What would I s-

"Mai?" John asked, "What's wrong? You're crying." He sounded genuinely worried.

"Uh..." I couldn't think of what to say. "Uh..." Oh no! He's going to wonder why I'm just saying 'uh...' "It's just because I love you so much, baby." That was good. It sounded like something out of a movie. John hugged me closer, and I knew he believed me. We stayed like that until I heard two very familiar words.

"Mai, tea." It was Naru. Of course. When I turned Naru and Lin were at the computers. That's when I realized that John and I were the only ones who weren't dressed. I put a kettle on a portable stove (I didn't even know they existed, where do you GET these??!) and grabbed my favourite outfit - a blue sweatshirt and brown capris. I hesitated, and put them back. That's the outfit I wore when I was possessed by Kenji on Christmas Eve. Instead, I grabbed a black t-shirt and jeans. Then I headed to the bathroom.

When I got there, I found out it didn't lock. Of course, someone's going to walk in on me. Just in case, I wrapped a towel around me while I got dressed. Just as I suspected, someone walked in. It was Lin.

"Lin, get away. You can wait until I'm done." I sounded surprisingly calm. But he didn't leave. Instead, he kept walking towards me. "Lin, I swear I will hurt you badly if ou don't get away. That only made him chuckle, knowing he was stronger then me. "LIN! GET AWAY!" I didn't hesitate to grab Sadoko's hair spray and point it to his eyes. When I did that, he just kept walking. He really thought that I wouldn't do it. He seriously did. But I knew I would. I knew what I had to do. I closed my eyes, and pressed the top down. All I heard, was Lin's scream. I didn't want to see him, eyes all red, so I kept my eyes closed.

I kept them closed when I heard the footsteps come running. When I heard the cry of surprise, and when I felt the slap on my cheek. I knelt down, tears building up, and didn't open my eyes again until I felt someone hugging me. Naru.

"Sorry about Lin," he whispered, "He can be quite rude sometimes." My eyes widened.

"Can you get off of me?" I asked, while pushing Naru away. I was still in just a towel. When I looked up at him, he looked hurt, and walked out the door. Then I heard more footsteps come. It was John. But he just stood at the door. "Would everyone just_ stop_ coming while I'm in a towel?" I screamed at him, harsh, but I was annoyed. Then I slammed the door in his face. I could tell he didn't leave. He was guarding the door. I smiled to myself and got dressed, pausing only to make sure I didn't have a bruise on my cheek.

I didn't want to face John now, though, so I escaped through the window. But, I was outside, I knew it was a mistake. There, standing in front of me, were Masako and Ayako. And it didn't look like they were going to save me. Masako stepped forward, looking stiff.

"You IDIOT! You can't just steal Naru away from me!" she screamed, and slapped me. That cheek really would be bruised now. I winced. Ayako was now stepping closer. She slapped me even harder then Masako could ever do.

"Mai, I can't belive you! All I've done is try to be your friend, and you just waltz in here and take all the men. Who do you think you are? Try to date someone even close to your age!" Ayako's words stung. I never asked for this to happen! I wanted to shout. I don't love them! Tears were welling up in my eyes.

"John..." I moaned. Did I love him? Do I know who really wrote the scrapbook? Do I even want to know who would be stalker-ish enough to take all of those pictures? Do I even know who to trust anymore? "John..." I kept weakly calling his name over and over again until I heard the bathroom door open and see him look out the window. He cursed under his breath, ran over to me, and carried me inside. "I'm sorry," I said.

"For what?" he asked, with a confused look on his face. I reached out to hug him, but he pulled away. "For what?" He repeated, and I swallowed hard.

"Running away." I answered, then reached out to him again. This time he let me hug him and cry. "I'm sorry..." I felt weak. And thirsty.

That's when I saw Monk. With Hot tea.

"Monk, give me that tea." I demanded.

"No, Mai, I can't!"

"Monk, now." John and I said it at the same time. He hesitated, then gave it to me. I swallowed it in one mouthful, and smiled. I sat there for a few minutes.

Then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

There were dots everywhere. Spirits? What else? Naru. Smiling. But, this time it wasn't annoying. I smiled, and waved. Then we walked towards each other and hugged.

"She's here." he whispered into my ear. Who? "Machi." It seemed like he could read my mind. When I looked up, I saw Naru's lip, swollen from John's kick. My eyes welled up with tears when I remembered he was_ laughing_ about that. I looked away, and saw Monk, lying on the ground.

"Naru?" I asked, looking at Monk, "What happened?" I looked up, tears in my eyes, and realized we were still hugging. I pushed him away, and ran over to Monk.

"Monk!" I sobbed, and saw him lift his head. His teeth were sharp and glistening. His eyes were blood-red, and suddenly he morphed into a female figure. "GWA!!!" I screamed, and stepped back 5 steps, which caused me to run into someone. It was Lin, eyes red and puffy, but he held me back. It was starting to hurt my arms. "Lin! Get off!" I tried to pull away, but he held me too tight. The woman kept approaching. Machi? Where was John? He would help me. John. John.

"John!" I awoke saying his name, hot and sweaty. John opened his sleepy eyes.

"Mmmhmm?" I could tell he had been sleeping on a chair, waiting for me to wake up.

"Where's Monk?" I asked, afraid my dream had yet to come true.

"At the base" John answered, "Why?"

"Exorcise him." I demanded, "Or I will." John nodded, knowing that me doing the nine cuts would hurt to much.

"Monk!" he called, and pulled his holy water out of his pocket. Monk stood there until he was finished, then left without saying a word. I had to talk to him. I ran after him and stepped in front of him. My eyes were serious. His were curious. I laughed to myself, knowing my rhyme.

"I know it was you." I felt like slapping him for not telling me the truth.

Monk sighed and walked away. I was so angry. He can't just walk away from me!

"You can't just walk away from me!" I shouted. He turned to me.

"I just did." His words were hash but his eyes were sad. Then I did. I slapped him. Hard. Then ran away with tears in my eyes, and slammed right into Naru.

"EH?!" I shouted, and ran away, fearing that my dream would come true. I ran into the first room I saw, and closed the door behind me. Pressing my back against the door, I examined the room.

The walls wre pink. There were two windows, with white curtains. The bed was a double bed, with a pink cover and white frills at the end. Wow, what a girly room.

When I didn't hear anything outside, I got up and tried to open the door. When that didn't work, I tried to open it slowly and carefully. It still didn't work. Why won't it open? I pounded on the door, then turned around and slid down the door. That's when I saw her. A pretty teenager sitting at a vanity, brushing her hair.

"S-sorry to intrude." I stuttered out. She turned around. The first thing I noticed was her eyes. They were purple. Purple eyes aren't very common these days. And then her hair. It was straight and black. A true Japanese girl.

"Hi!" she said, returning my smile. "I'm Machi!"

"M-Machi?" I repeated. "Um... you know you're dead, right? Please, tell me how you died. We want to help you." Machi's face turned into a scowl. She opened her mouth, then closed it. "Please?" I asked again.

"Uh.. Don't tell anyone." She managed out.

"Don't worry!" I promised.

"Well... I-I was going to meet my boyfriend, when I saw him, we hugged, and he stabbed a knife in my back. I managed to get home, and crawl through my window, but I died right where you are standing."

"Are you sure I can't tell them?" I asked, "Can I at least tell them who killed you?"

"Yes..." She hesitated. "It was a man named Shinji Tsuamato." She reluctantly said.

"Tsuamato... That sounds familiar. Oh well, I'm not important right now. He will be arrested, and you should cross over, Machi. If you don't soon, you won't be able to." I told her. Machi nodded, and floated up where she belongs - in heaven.

When I tried the door again, it opened easily. A few tears came to my eyes, but I knew she had gone to a better place.

John ran up to meet me. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Mai, are you OK?" he asked.

"She's gone..." I mumbled.

"Mai? Did she cross over?"

"Yes... I answered. We would leave in the morning.

That night I woke up to a sniffling sound. I looked around, and it was Monk. He was talking in his sleep.

"Love.......-ko.......Mai.......NO!!" He sat up straight.

"M-Monk?" I was almost afraid to say anything.

"Yeah?" He sleepily asked.

"Uh... you were talking in your sleep."

"I do every night." He shivered. "It's cold tonight."

"Mmmhmm" I said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Well, you have John to keep you warm. Who do I have? Lin?" I blushed, and them we both burst out laughing. "I'm serious though." he said, and we both laughed again. All the noise woke up Naru.

"Mmm, Mai?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Are you cold?"

"No." I answered coldly.

"Well, your voice sure is..." Naru said, turned over and fell back to sleep. But I _was_ cold, so I moved closer to John, and fell back asleep.

When I woke up, everyone was packing. I quickly got dressed and packed up. Today I was wearing my SPR shirt and blue skinny jeans. After I said goodbye to Nao and Sadoko, I took my spot beside John in his car.

"Did you sleep well, Mai?" John asked.

"Yeah. Hey, this case went by quickly, don't you think?" I mentioned, while digging through my bag.

"Quickest one yet." He responded. Then I found what I was looking for - the scrapbook.

"Aha!" I shouted, then opened it to the first page. I tried to read the words underneath the picture of John and I. Mai. My name? The first sentence read : Mai is so cute when she's in love. My eyes strained to read more, and finally I got it figured out.

Mai is so cute when she's in love. Why can't I summon that smile? So it's not John? Oh no, I knew I made the wrong choice, but how wrong was it? I turned to the first page to see if I could read who it was by, but there was only a big ink blot. Now it would take so long to figure out! For all I know, it could have been Masako or Ayako.

"You seem lost in thought." John mentioned, and grabbed my hand. I snapped back to reality. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah... Just thinking." I told him, noticing I hadn't ever really seen how beautiful his eyes were.

"Mmm, kinda tired..." I mumbled before going into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note**: Sorry it took so long to update :(

Chapter 5

When I woke up, I didn't know where I was. I was in a king sized bed, in an unfamiliar apartment. Quickly, I sat up and looked around. This was a western-styled apartment. Whose could this be? I didn't know any Western people. I felt for my shoes, only to realize they weren't there. Groggily, I walked over to the sliding glass door, walked out to the balcony, and looked around. To the left I could see my school. To the right, I could see my apartment building, and if I looked really hard, I could see SPR. I yawned, stretched, and shuffled back into the room, closing the door behind me. As soon as I plopped back down on the bed, John walked in, with a cup of steaming green tea. My eyes lit up as I smelt the air.

"Thank You!"I shouted, as he walked closer, which seemed to surprise him.

"Oh, Mai, I was just about to wake you up. You've been sleeping for 5 hours." John told me, and I felt my face redden. I jumped up, smoothed out my hair, and took my tea.

"You should of woken me up." I mumbled, feeling embarrassed. I dashed right out of the room, into the unknown hall. I saw doors flying by me, wondering how big this apartment was, until I found the door I was looking for. I opened the door wide, and stared into the mirror. My hair was sticking everywhere, my eyes were red and swollen from my sleep, and my clothes were wrinkly.

I ran to the coat closet and grabbed my shoes, and flew out the door. My hands fumbled in my pocket, searching for my keys. It was at that moment I found not my keys, but John's car key. I opened it up, grabbed my suitcase, then tossed his key into the driver seat. I was running quickly to my apartment, not knowing why I had John's key in the first place.

Then I remembered. John had no pockets in his sweats, so when he was carrying me out of the car, he asked me to hold it. I had shoved it in my pocket. I shook my head, and focused on what I had to do. Slowly, I turned, and saw John running towards me, his eyes confused. I wanted to run, but my legs just wouldn't move. He caught up to me soon.

"Mai..." He said breathlessly, then swallowed. "Sorry." John flashed me an apologetic smile, even thought it looked more like a grimace, and I felt myself get mad. But, why was I getting mad? There wasn't a reason, it was just happening. I stopped my hand from flying up and slapping him, and just stepped forward and hugged him.

"I'm sorry too." I whispered, knowing I overreacted. We could feel eyes watching us, it's true he was 19 and I was only a freshman in high school, 14. I squeezed my eyes closed. A few seconds later, they flung open, remembering that my birthday was tomorrow. "John!" I shouted, and pulled away. He looked at me, with yet another confused look on his face. For a moment I pondered that look, wondering if he was confused about me shouting his name, or why I pulled away. But, then I remembered what I was going to say. "It's my birthday tomorrow!" I exclaimed, "I'm going to be 15!" John's eyes widened, then looked at his hands that were still holding mine. He let go, and looked at me seriously.

"Mai! You're only 14... and I'm 19. That's five years apart. I'm not sure about laws here, but in some places that's illegal." I laughed.

"Don't worry, John! We're fine." I laughed again and patted his head, running off. As soon as I got into my apartment, I looked around, feeling a draft. Then I saw it. A broken window. I looked around. My TV was gone, as well as my computer. I ran to my room, and flung open my hidden desk drawer. That's where I kept all my money. It was all gone. All gone. My heart pounded against my chest, as I pulled everything important to me out of their spots, in a little pile on my carpet. I pulled my sock drawer right out of my dresser, and found some money in there. It was where I used to keep money before I bought that desk. There was a total of ¥180000. Not enough to live on. I reached over to my desk to boot up my computer, only to remember it was stolen. Where would I go? I was pretty sure I used all the money in my bank account on the trip. Then I remembered. I should have gotten my paycheck yesterday. Quickly, I got up, and ran to my door, slipping on the floor, and flung my door open, ran down the hall, and into the lobby. I opened one set of glass doors, and was just about to open my mailbox when I realized the full mailbox door, the one they use to put the mail in, was wide open. There was nothing in any of the mailboxes.

"!" I screamed, and fell to the floor, almost dropping my piles of bills. I had nowhere to go, until I looked out the door and saw Monk at a vending machine, trying to get a 10lb. bag of rice out of the bottom. I jumped to my feet, crammed the money in my pocket, and ran towards him at full speed. Oh, and then I ran into him. "S-sorry!" I said, when my head stopped spinning.

"No problem!" He said, then flashed a smile. I wondered why he was so happy, until I realized the impact form my hit had pushed him over, and pulled the rice out of the vending machine. I stood up, brushed off my pants, then grimaced.

"Hey, since I helped you, can we talk?" I asked, innocently.

"Sure." He said, and we started walking, I guessed towards his house.

"Um.. Yeah. I kinda got robbed, and need a place to stay... can you help me out?" I looked up at him nervously, and he smiled.

"Sure.... I have an extra room... let's go to your apartment, and we can get your stuff." Monk agreed, and we turned to go to my apartment. After I gathered up all my things, we set off to monk's residence. I pulled out my cell phone, and called John. He had added his name and number into my contacts list a while ago. It rang twice, and then he picked up.

"_Moshimoshi!_" A female voice called into the phone.

"Uh... Hi.... Is John there?" I asked weakly.

"Who's calling?" The strange voice asked.

"Just get me him!" I demanded.

"Fine. Just a minute." The voice coldly said. A few seconds later, John picked up.

"Hello?"

"John?"

"Yes...?"

"It's Mai."

"Oh, hey!"

"Who was that?"

"Nobody!" John answered way too quickly. "It's just..."

"Just who? Another girlfriend?" I interrupted him with anger, "Then you can just forget about me then!" I screamed at him.

"Mai, no! You don't understand!"

"Forget it." I coldly said, and hung up the phone with tears welling up in my eyes. "Forget it....." I repeated to myself, almost dropped my phone. A few seconds later, I broke down in tears.

"M-Mai?" Monk asked after a few more minutes of walking. I looked up at him, my eyes red and puffy, but a scowl on my face. "Mai, I've been in love with you since I first met you. I know you just broke up with John, but I couldn't stand you being with him, and I just couldn't wait to tell you how I feel!" Monk's eyes were squished closed, and he was blushing deeply. My eyes lit up, because I knew it was him the whole time. He was the one who loved me, he was the one who made the scrapbook, he just didn't tell me because he was shy! Even though he was much older then me, it would work out. I know it would. We could... we could.... My thoughts were interrupted by him pressing his lips against mine, in a passionate kiss. But off in the distance I heard someone calling my name.

"Mai?!" The voice called, and I broke away, the kiss from Monk making me feel awkward and wrong. It was John. He was glaring at Monk's arms wrapped around me. "Monk?" He asked then stepped forward. Monk pulled his arms away from me, and planted them on his hips. Then he started laughing. It wasn't a 'oh that's funny' laugh, it was a 'yes, I stole your girlfriend, and now I'm mocking you, and kissing her in front of you' laugh. "Monk! You... you... Sicko! You pedophile! You Cradle snatcher! Mai, that woman was my sister, Jennifer, visiting me! Please take me back, please understand! ... MONK!! I'm going to.... I'm going to.... KILL YOU!" John's leg flew up, and kicked Monk in the teeth. Then John was really beating Monk up, until He ran away. "Mai... Mai, I'm so sorry. Please understand. I.. I love you, Mai! I'll do anything for you to take me back!"

"Well..." I thought for a while. I wanted to stay with John. That laugh from Monk couldn't be the person who wrote the scrapbook. Besides, now that I have John, that scrapbook doesn't even matter. "Well... You could make the horrible taste come out of my mouth..." I didn't have to say anything else. John's face was already pressed against mine, and there was a nice, minty taste in my mouth. I felt people staring, but I didn't care. John and I walked to his apartment, and we wrote a letter to SPR to say I was quitting. After I mailed it, we sold our apartments, and moved to a lovely oceanside city called Tsu, where we wouldn't easily be found. On May 18th, we got married, and dedicated our live to each other. On January 6th the following year, We had our first baby. Well, babies really. We had twins, one boy one girl, named Sadoko and Nao, after the two people in the case that brought us together.

**The End**


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